Wait ahead for Thai soccer team in cave

Twelve boys aged between 11 and 16 and their 25-year-old soccer coach face a possible lengthy wait to be evacuated from a flooded cave in Thailand as experts work on the best way to bring them to safety.

The team became trapped in the complex Tham Luang cave system after heavy rain blocked their exit on June 23, sparking a massive search with rescuers from Australia, the UK, US and China joining the international effort.

Divers struggled through narrow passages and murky waters to discover the boys late on Monday night on an elevated rock ledge about four kilometres from the mouth of the cave.

Chaing Rai Governor Narongsak Osotthanakorn refuted reports citing a Thai navy official that it may take up to four months until the group could be taken out as "ridiculous."

Officials are installing a phone line in the cave so the parents can have some way of reconnecting with their sons, according to Osotthanakorn,

Relatives of the boys broke into cheers on receiving news the boys had been found.

Aisha Wiboonrungrueng, the mother of 11-year-old Chanin smiled and hugged her family.

She said she would cook her son a Thai fried omelette, his favourite food, when he returns home.

Australia's Foreign Minister Julie Bishop welcomed the news and commended the work of Australian rescuers.

"Our team of specialists are supporting the Royal Thai Navy to get much needed food and first aid to the group, and plan for their safe evacuation from the cave," Ms Bishop said in a statement on Tuesday.

"An Australian Federal Police Specialist Response Group team of six divers is continuing to assist the cave rescue operation, along with ADF, AFP and DFAT liaison and co-ordination specialists."

Two experienced British cave rescue divers, John Volanthen and Rick Stanton, were the first to reach the boys, according to Bill Whitehouse, the vice chairman of the British Cave Rescue Council.

A video shot by rescuers in flickering torchlight revealed boys clad in shorts and red and blue shirts sitting or standing on the rock above an expanse of water.

"How many of you are there - 13? Brilliant," a member of the multinational rescue team, speaking in English, says to the boys.

"You are very strong," a rescuer says.

The boys have been given energy gels to sustain them while a rescue plan is worked out.

Narongsak said the team's health had been assessed overnight.

"If you ask me now while we are still assessing all sides then I don't think they will be home soon," he told reporters.

"We categorised their health condition as red, yellow or green, red being the most severe injuries, yellow being mild and green being light. Yesterday, unofficially, we assessed that most are in the green category."

US cave rescue expert Anmar Mirza says many challenges remain to free the boys, primary among them is the decision on whether to evacuate them or supply them where they are until flood waters recede.

"Trying to take non-divers through a cave is one of the most dangerous situations possible, even if the dives are relatively easy.

"If the dives are difficult then supply will be difficult, but the risk of trying to dive them out is also exponentially greater," Mirza said.

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha thanked the international experts and rescuers who helped locate the missing for their "tremendous efforts."